How to Import CSV Files in Laravel 12 – Complete Guide

CSV (Comma Separated Values) is one of the most common file formats used for importing and exporting tabular data. Whether you’re importing customer details, products, or reports, handling CSV files is a must-have feature in many web applications.

In this blog, we’ll walk through a step-by-step process to import a CSV file in Laravel 12 using the powerful Laravel Excel package.

🔧 Prerequisites

Make sure you have the following setup before starting:

• Laravel 12 project
• PHP >= 8.2
• Composer installed
• Basic knowledge of Laravel (routes, controllers, migrations, etc.)

✅ Step 1: Install Laravel Excel Package

Although the package name is "Excel", it supports CSV, XLSX, and XLS file types.

Run this command to install the package:

composer require maatwebsite/excel

Laravel 12 will auto-discover the package, so you don’t need to register anything manually.

⚙️ Step 2: Create a Migration and Model

Suppose we want to import a list of products from a CSV file.

Generate a model and migration:

php artisan make:model Product -m

Edit the migration file:

// database/migrations/xxxx_xx_xx_create_products_table.php

public function up(): void
{
    Schema::create('products', function (Blueprint $table) {
        $table->id();
        $table->string('name');
        $table->string('sku')->unique();
        $table->decimal('price', 10, 2);
        $table->integer('stock');
        $table->timestamps();
    });
}

Run the migration:

php artisan migrate

📥 Step 3: Create an Import Class

Laravel Excel uses import classes to handle file data.

php artisan make:import ProductsImport --model=Product

Now, open app/Imports/ProductsImport.php and modify it:

namespace App\Imports;

use App\Models\Product;
use Maatwebsite\Excel\Concerns\ToModel;
use Maatwebsite\Excel\Concerns\WithHeadingRow;

class ProductsImport implements ToModel, WithHeadingRow
{
    public function model(array $row)
    {
        return new Product([
            'name'  => $row['name'],
            'sku'   => $row['sku'],
            'price' => $row['price'],
            'stock' => $row['stock'],
        ]);
    }
}

The WithHeadingRow concern tells the importer to treat the first row of the CSV file as the column headers.

🧑‍💻 Step 4: Create a Controller

Generate the controller to handle form submission and import logic:

php artisan make:controller ProductImportController

Then update it:

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use App\Imports\ProductsImport;
use Maatwebsite\Excel\Facades\Excel;

class ProductImportController extends Controller
{
    public function showForm()
    {
        return view('import-products');
    }

    public function import(Request $request)
    {
        $request->validate([
            'file' => 'required|file|mimes:csv,txt'
        ]);

        Excel::import(new ProductsImport, $request->file('file'));

        return back()->with('success', 'Products imported successfully!');
    }
}

🖼️ Step 5: Create the Blade View

Create a Blade view at resources/views/import-products.blade.php:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Import CSV in Laravel 12</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h2>Import Products CSV</h2>

    @if(session('success'))
        <p style="color:green">{{ session('success') }}</p>
    @endif

    <form action="{{ route('products.import') }}" method="POST" enctype="multipart/form-data">
        @csrf
        <input type="file" name="file" accept=".csv" required>
        <button type="submit">Import</button>
    </form>
</body>
</html>

🌐 Step 6: Add Routes

Add the necessary routes in routes/web.php:

use App\Http\Controllers\ProductImportController;

Route::get('/import-products', [ProductImportController::class, 'showForm'])->name('products.form');
Route::post('/import-products', [ProductImportController::class, 'import'])->name('products.import');

🧪 Step 7: Test with a Sample CSV

Create a products.csv file with the following structure:

name,sku,price,stock
iPhone 14,IPH14,999.99,50
Samsung Galaxy S22,SGS22,899.99,60
Google Pixel 7,PIX7,799.99,40

1. Visit http://your-app.test/import-products
2. Upload the CSV file
3. Products should be inserted into your database

🔍 Extra Features You Can Add

• Validation Before Insert: Use WithValidation concern.
• Skip Empty Rows: Use SkipsEmptyRows concern.
• Batch Inserts: Use WithBatchInserts for performance.
• Custom CSV Delimiter: Use WithCustomCsvSettings if your CSV uses ; instead of ,.

public function getCsvSettings(): array
{
    return [
        'delimiter' => ';'
    ];
}

❓ Common Errors & Fixes

• Error: Undefined offset: 0
  → Make sure your file has headers and you’re using WithHeadingRow.

• Error: mimes validation failed
  → Ensure your file has a .csv or .txt extension and you’ve added mimes:csv,txt validation.

✅ Conclusion

That’s it! 🎉 You’ve now built a simple yet powerful CSV import feature in Laravel 12. The Maatwebsite/Laravel-Excel package gives you all the flexibility you need for data import.

You can now expand this by:

• Adding real-time validation
• Importing large datasets with queues
• Building an admin panel to manage uploads